Material-charging box for open-hearth furnaces and the like

ABSTRACT

The box of the invention is composed of an upper frame portion having two forwardly extending arms formed with longitudinal slideways therealong and a pusher plate depending from one end of the frame between the forwardly extending arms; and a lower opentop trough portion having open ends, sidewalls and a bottom adapted to contain material to be charged. The trough is formed with guides along its sidewalls which cooperate with the slideways of the frame to effect sliding relative movement of the frame and trough portions. The pusher plate of the frame is adapted to fit between the sidewalls of the trough for sliding movement along the length of the trough when the trough and frame are moved relative to each other. The frame is provided with a pocket at its rear end for accommodating the head of a charging peel whereby the box is manipulated. The upper rear end of the trough portion is provided with a crossbar engageable by detachable hooks for controlling movement of the trough relative to the frame.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Frank Kennedy Johnstowmh. [21] AppLNo. 815.885 [22] Filed Apr. 14,l969 [45] Patented .Iu1y27,l971 [73] Assignee United StatesSteelCorporation [54] MATERlAbCI-IARGING BOX lFOR OPEN-HEART" FURNACES AND THE LIKE 3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 2l4/29 [51] Int.Cl. F23k3/00 [50] FieldoiSearch 214/29, 30, 82,26

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 131,564 9/1872 Rowland 214/29 2,365,546 12/1944 Hansen.... 214/29 2,405,342 8/1946 Brosius..... 214/29 2,663,439 12/1953 Phelps 214/82X I 4 52 ll 1 2.757.806 8/1956 Whitehouse etal.

ABSTRACT: The box of the invention is composed of an upper frame portion having two forwardly extending arms formed with longitudinal slideways therealong and a pusher plate depending from one end of the frame between the forwardly extending arms; and a lower open-top trough portion having open ends, sidewalls and a bottom adapted to contain material to be charged. The trough is formed with guides along its sidewalls which cooperate with the slideways of the frame to effect sliding relative movement of the frame and trough portions. The pusher plate of the frame is adapted to fit between the sidewalls of the trough for sliding movement along the length of the trough when the trough and frame are moved relative to each other. The frame is provided with a pocket at its rear end for accommodating the head ofa charging peel whereby the box is manipulated. The upper rear end of the trough portion is provided with a crossbar engageable by detachable hooks for controlling movement of the trough relative to the frame.

SHEET 1 OF 5 PAIENTEU JUL2 7 l9?! W m m J M w W h w w w W m H F A iiNNQM i WH @K ATENTEH JUL2 7 1971 SHEET 2 OF 5 INVENTOR FRANK KENNEDY Attorney PATENTED JUL2 7 Ian SHEET 3 BF 5 WW Mm INVENTOR FRANK Kf/WVEDY W MM Attorney PATENTEU JUL27|97I 3, 595 406 saw u or 5 MATERIAL-CHARGING BOX FOR OPEN-HEARTII FURNACES AND THE LIKE The present invention relates generally to material-handling equipment and more particularly to a bottom-dumping charging box especially suitable for charging materials such as scrap into an open-hearth furnace or the like.

Prior to my invention, the conventional charging box used to charge material such as cold scrap into an open-hearth furnace consisted of an open-top rectangular box having a socket at one end engageable by the head ofa charging peel whereby the loaded box was picked up from a transfer car and moved into the interior of an open-hearth furnace where the box was then rotated by the peel to dump its contents on the furnace floor. This operation required an excessive amount of time since the sizes of the boxes were limited by the fact that they had to be rotated inside the furnace and further was not conducive to uniform placing of the scrap within the furnace for optimum melting conditions.

It is, accordingly, the primary object of my invention to provide an improved charging box whereby materials may be rapidly charged into an open-hearth furnace or the like and be easily distributed in a manner most conducive to maximum ef ficient operation of the furnace.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved charging box as set forth by the above statement of object wherein the charging box is constructed so that it may be used for raking and leveling piles of material previously dumped in the furnace.

It is a more specialized object of my invention to provide an improved charging box composed of a frame having a pair of forwardly extending spaced arms provided with longitudinal slideways therealong and a pivoted gate at its forward end and a rigid depending pusher plate between the arms at its rearward end; and an open-top trough having open ends, a bottom, sidewalls, and guides formed on the sidewalls for cooperating with the slideways of the frame to permit relative sliding movement between the frame and the trough, the pusher plate being adapted to fit into the trough to hold the contents thereof against movement with the trough during relative movement between the trough and the frame.

These and other objects will become more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, showing a charging box of the invention being used to charge an openhearth furnace;

FIG. 2 is a view taken substantially along the line [H] of FIG. 4;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, taken along the line lV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the rearward end of the box of the invention showing the two main components thereof in locked position prior to engagement of a peel head with the box;

FIG. 6 is an elevation view, partly in section, of the box of the invention showing the main components ofthe box in unlocked position and a peel head inserted in the rear socket of the box;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the box of the invention with some parts omitted for clarity; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial plan view of a charging machine used for manipulating the box of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference nurneral 2 designates generally the charging box of the invention which is comprised of an upper part 4 and a lower part 6, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 7.

Upper part 4 is in the form of a frame having two forwardly projecting arms 8. As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the arms 8 are substantially Sshaped in cross section so that longitudinally extending slideways l and ribs Ill, 12 and 13 are formed on the arms. The rear ends of the arms 8 are joined by an integral plate portion 14. A rigid pusher plate 16 is connected with the under surface of the plate 14 and depends therefrom between the arms 8. Sideplates I8 may be provided on the pusher plate 16 for reinforcing the back end structure of the frame 4. The arms 8 are provided with extensions 20 at their forward ends for supporting a crossbar 22 upon which is pivotally mounted a gate 24. The gate 24 is mounted eccentrically so as to be constantly urged to a vertical position by gravity.

The lower part 6 of the box 2 is in the form of a trough having open rear and forward ends, a bottom 30, sidewalls 32 and an open top. Spaced parallel upper and lower longitudinal ribs or guides 34 nd 36, respectively, are formed on the outer surfaces of the sidewalls 32. A fixed crossbar 38 is connected with and extends between the upper portions of the sidewalls 32 adjacent their rearward ends. A substantially U-shaped extension 40 projects from the rearward end of the bottom for a purpose which will become apparent.

Gussets 39 may be welded to the outer surfaces of sidewalls 32 to reinforce the trough 6, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 7.

The frame 4 of the box is slidably fitted on the lower portion 6 with the upper ribs 34 of the trough 6 interfitted into the slideways 10 of the frame between ribs 12 and 13. The ribs 34 are confined vertically by the upper vertical portions 42 of the S-shaped arms 8. Lower ribs 36 of the trough portion underlie and slidably support the lower rib portions 11 of the frame 6. In normal resting position, the gate 24 hangs vertically overlying and closing the forward end of the trough 6, and the pusher plate 16 fits into the trough 6 between the sidewalls 32. If the gate is not hanging vertically as the frame 4 and trough 6 are moved relative to each other to close the forward end of the trough, the eccentrically mounted gate will be pivoted to vertically hanging position when engaged by the forward end of the trough.

The upper surface of the bottom 30 of the trough 6 is provided with longitudinal corrugations 44 and the bottom of the depending plate 16 is provided with corrugations 46 which match the corrugations 44. The corrugations 44 and 46 serve to prevent wedging of thin plates of scrap between the bottom of the pusher plate 16 and the upper surface of the trough bottom 30 when the trough and frame are moved relative to each other.

The under surface of the bottom 30 is formed with transverse rake-type ribs 48 for a purpose which will be described more fully hereinafter.

As best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a pocket 50 is formed on the rear surface of the pusher plate 16 for receiving the head 52 of a charging peel 54. A substantially L-shaped plate 56 is retained for limited slidable vertical movement in the pocket 50 by means of a cross pin 58. The plate 56 is provided with a notch 60 in its long leg which engages the pin 58 when the plate 56 is in its lowermost position, as best shown in FIG. 5. In this position, the lower end of the plate 56 abuts against the rearward end of the trough bottom 30. When the peel head 52 is inserted in the pocket 50 and raised, the plate 56 is raised to its uppermost position so that its lower end is moved out of engagement with the bottom 30 of the trough 6, as best shown in FIG. 6.

An upper and lower pair of transversely extending angle sections 62 and 63, respectively, are welded across the outer face of the gate 24 to reinforce the same. As best shown in FIG. 4, vertically extending ribs 64 on the outer face of the gate 24 provide vertical reinforcement for the gate. The upper angle sections 62 together with the ribs 64 provide a sliding entrapment around the crossbar 22 that permits the pivotal movement of the gate 24 around the crossbar 22. The crossbar 22 is welded at its outer ends to the forward extensions 20 of the arms 8 of the frame 4.

As best shown in FIG. 1, the charging box of the invention is used in conjunction with a wheel-mounted charging machine 66. The charging machine 66 is provided with a pivotally mounted elongated peel housing 68. A hydraulic cylinder 70 is disposed in the inner end of the housing 68 for projecting and retracting a peel 54 relative to the housing. The peel housing 68 is pivoted about a transversely extending pivot 74 to raise or lower the forward end of the peel housing by means of a pair of hydraulic lift cylinders 76 The peel housing 68, which is supported by a trolley 69 mounted on wheels 71 for longitudinal movement, is advanced and retracted by means of a hydraulic cylinder 78 on the charging machine 66. The head 52 of the charging peel 54 id dimensioned to fit in the pocket 50 of the frame portion 4 of the charging box ofthe invention.

In operation, a transfer car 82 bearing a plurality of loaded charging boxes 83 is positioned in front of the charging side of an open-hearth furnace F and the charging machine 66 is moved into position adjacent the side of the transfer car remote from the furnace. Cylinder 78 and lift cylinders 76 are then actuated to advance the peel housing 68 and pivot it vertically about its pivot point 74 to just engage the head 52 of the peel 54 in the pocket 50 of one of the loaded charging boxes 83a on the transfer car 82. A pair of retractable hook arms 84, which are pivoted by one end on the peel housing 68 and normally disposed in extended position, as best shown in FIG. 8, engages the crossbar 38 of box 83a on its under side simultaneously with engagement of the peel head 52 in the pocket 50 of the box when the peel housing is advanced and vertically pivoted. The cylinders 76 are then again actuated to depress the rearward end of the peel housing and further raise its forward end to lift the box 83a from the transfer car. When the forward end of the peel housing is thus further raised, the peel head 52 lifts plate 56 free of engagement with the bottom 30 of the trough 6 of box 83a so that the trough and frame 4 are in unlocked relation and are free to be moved relative to each other. After the loaded box 830 is raised clear of the transfer car, the cylinder 78 is actuated to advance the peel housing 68 and the box 830 into the furnace. As the loaded box is lifted from the transfer car and advanced into the furnace, the forward outer end surface 86 of the peel housing 68 is in engagement with the rearward end of the extension 40 of the bottom 30 of the trough 6 of box 830 so that the box is supported in a level plane by the hook arms 84 and the surface 86 of the peel housing.

Dumping of the contents from the charging box 83a may then be accomplished in either of two ways. The dumping may be accomplished by actuating the cylinder 70 to project the frame 4 of the charging box toward the backwall of the furnace while the trough section of the box is held stationary by the hook arms 84, as shown by broken lines in FIG. 1. This causes the pusher plate to push scrap along the bottom 30 of the trough 6 and dump it out of the forward end thereof. This method is preferred when initially charging scrap into the furnace when it is desired to place it in the backwall area of the furnace. Dumping of the contents of the charging box can also be accomplished by separately actuating the travel cylinder 78 and the peel cylinder 70 to simultaneously retract the peel housing and project the peel so that the frame 4 of the charging box remains stationary and the trough portion 6 of the box retracts so that the contents of the box are dumped directly downward out of the box in the same alignment and orientation in which they were originally loaded into the box. lf desired, a combination ofthese two dumping methods may be used.

The ribs 48 on the bottoms of the boxes serve to rake material previously deposited in the furnace. The advancement and retraction of successive boxes over the heaped piles of material previously charged into the furnace effects a raking action when the boxes are lowered to engage loose material with the ribs 48. This raking action tends to further disperse the material in the paths of the charging boxes and enables a greater cubic content of material to be distributed throughout the furnace than was possible heretofore.

It will be understood that the gate 24 is mounted for pivotal movement about the crossbar 22 so that the gate is free to swing upwardly upon initial contact with heaped piles of previously deposited material when the box is open and being retracted. When the gate is thus in out-of-vertical osition, it WI" exert a scalplng action to level off previous y dumped material as an empty box is retracted from the furnace and with its frame 4 extended beyond the trough 6. This permits material to be piled higher in the furnace than was heretofore possible with charging boxes used prior to my invention.

While I have shown but one embodiment of my invention, other adaptations and modifications may be made.

I claim:

1. A material-charging box composed of an upper frame having spaced parallel forwardly projecting arms with longitudinal slideways formed thereon and a lower open-ended trough adapted to contain material having sidewalls and a bottom, guides on said walls cooperating with said slideways to permit sliding relative movement therebetween, said frame having a pocket for a charging-peel head at its rear end, a plate slidable vertically in said pocket from a lowermost to an uppermost position when said head is inserted therein, said plate in its normal lowermost position engaging said trough to insure movement thereof with said frame, and a plate on said frame depending therefrom into the trough adapted to hold the contents of the trough against movement therewith when the trough is retracted relative to the frame.

2. A material-charging box composed of an upper frame having spaced parallel forwardly projecting arms with longitudinal slideways formed thereon and a lower open-ended trough adapted to contain material having sidewalls and a bottom, guides on said walls cooperating with said slideways to permit sliding relative movement therebetween, said frame having a plate depending therefrom into the trough adapted to hold the contents of the trough against movement therewith when the trough is retracted relative to the frame, a gate depending from said frame to close the forward end of said trough, said gate being eccentrically pivoted to the forward ends of said arms whereby said gate is normally urged to closing position.

3. Apparatus as defined by claim I in which said trough has a crossbar adjacent its rear end engageable by detachable links projecting from the charging peel for controlling the position of the trough. 

1. A material-charging box composed of an upper frame having spaced parallel forwardly projecting arms with longitudinal slideways formed thereon and a lower open-ended trough adapted to contain material having sidewalls and a bottom, guides on said walls cooperating with said slideways to permit sliding relative movement therebetween, said frame having a pocket for a chargingpeel head at its rear end, a plate slidable vertically in said pocket from a lowermost to an uppermost position when said head is inserted therein, said plate in its normal lowermost position engaging said trough to insure movement thereof with said frame, and a plate on said frame depending therefrom into the trough adapted to hold the contents of the trough against movement therewith when the trough is retracted relative to the frame.
 2. A material-charging box composed of an upper frame having spaced parallel forwardly projecting arms with longitudinal slideways formed thereon and a lower open-ended trough adapted to contain material having sidewalls and a bottom, guides on said walls cooperating with said slideways to permit sliding relative movement therebetween, said frame having a plate depending therefrom into the trough adapted to hold the contents of the trough against movement therewith when the trough is retracted relative to the frame, a gate depending from said frame to close the forward end of said trough, said gate being eccentrically pivoted to the forward ends of said arms whereby said gate is normally urged to closing position.
 3. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 in which said trough has a Crossbar adjacent its rear end engageable by detachable links projecting from the charging peel for controlling the position of the trough. 